"Yumiko, are you sure you're interested in the Monster House?"
Following behind Miura Yumiko, Nakano Yu stood at the entrance of the haunted house, then looked at the girl with an expectant expression. The corner of his mouth twitched as he asked.
Perhaps because the existence of monsters had become public knowledge, Monster Houses in Japan were now extremely popular. Most of the NPCs in the Monster Houses were actually real monsters, including small yokai and monsters from the main family of the Nura Group who had nothing to do, so they went out to earn some pocket money and help with the expenses of the Nura Group.
There were also some weak and kind-hearted monsters from various parts of Japan who had heard about Ukiyoe Town, the town of monsters, and fled there. Those monsters did not want to harm humans, or they were too weak and had served powerful demons elsewhere. So they escaped to Ukiyoe Town and found jobs in places where monsters were needed in order to survive.
How should it be described... although it sounded rather fantastical, Nakano Yu clearly understood that this was the inevitable consequence of publicly revealing the existence of monsters. Either humans would reject them, or they would integrate with them.
However, integration was not that easy. Even in present-day Ukiyoe Town, there were still many people protesting against the existence of monsters. It was just that, because tens of thousands of monsters from the Nura Group were stationed in Ukiyoe Town, those people did not dare protest in the streets and could only post exaggerated statements online.
The Monster House that Miura Yumiko had brought them to was a new Monster House strongly supported by the Nura Group.
If Yuiigahama Yui or Yukinoshita Yukino had been interested in the Monster House, Nakano Yu might have believed it, but Miura Yumiko...
It should be known that Miura Yumiko had already formed a Wing Contract with him, and her eyes could already see terrifying ghosts wandering through the streets and alleys.
Although the number of ghosts had decreased considerably for some reason, they could still occasionally be seen.
After all this time, Miura Yumiko's psychological endurance had already been trained to the level of a Miko; how could she possibly be interested in a Monster House? If she truly wanted to see something like that, she only needed to turn left after leaving the Shopping Mall, and there would be an alley there.
When Nakano Yu arrived, he noticed that two Crow Tengu in that alley were cutting down a ghost; going to a Monster House was nowhere near as exciting as watching Crow Tengu exorcise ghosts.
In fact, Nakano Yu was right; Miura Yumiko truly had no interest in the Monster House. When people gain power and lose the sense of threat, their courage naturally grows.
The reason she had brought them here was to create an opportunity for Nakano Yu and Yuiigahama Yui to be alone.
"Oh, Nakano Yu, don't worry about things like that! Come on, come on!"
Waving her hand, Miura Yumiko said, then proactively pulled along Yukinoshita Yukino, who had remained silent the entire time, and led the confused Yukino into the Monster House first.
Watching the two of them, Nakano Yu sighed helplessly and looked at Yui beside him, only to see her staring straight ahead while her pale, delicate hand moved back and forth strangely, as if she wanted to grab Nakano Yu's hand but did not dare.
"Let's go."
Seeing Yui struggle so much just to hold someone's hand, Nakano Yu proactively took the girl's hand.
When Nakano Yu first grabbed her hand, the warmth from his palm caused Yuiigahama Yui's body to tremble as though she had been struck by electricity. Immediately afterward, she swallowed nervously, nodded in agreement, and entered the Monster House together with the young man.
As soon as they passed through the doors of the Monster House, Nakano Yu and Yuiigahama Yui felt a chill before their eyes, as though they had passed through a thin stream of water. Immediately afterward, the scene inside the Monster House began to change.
The dark Monster House underwent a tremendous transformation. Very quickly, the scene inside became an old corridor illuminated by neon lights, with tatami mats covering the floor. A damp, rotten, sour smell filled their nostrils, and a cold Wind blew through the corridor, causing Yuiigahama Yui to shiver involuntarily.
Looking at the corridor, Nakano Yu smiled.
The current situation was an illusion; he and Yuiigahama Yui had fallen into an illusion together. He did not even need to think to know that this was the work of the monsters in this Monster House.
After a quick glance, Nakano Yu understood what was happening.
The one maintaining the illusion was an Eye Demon positioned above their heads. Its eyes, as large as iron cauldrons, glowed red as it sustained the illusion.
The rotten, sour smell came from a Natto Kozo, probably one from the Nura Group. As for the cold Wind, it was the masterpiece of an Ice Monster.
This Monster House was quite interesting. Leaving everything else aside, the method of using illusions to create a terrifying atmosphere alone could save a great deal of money on renovations.
Not to mention the assistance of the Natto Kozo and Ice Monster when it came to smells and temperature effects.
"Ah, um, Yu, w-where do we go now?"
Just as Nakano Yu was curious about what would happen next, Yui beside him tightened her grip on the young man's hand and asked nervously.
To Nakano Yu, this Monster House was nothing special, but to Yui, an ordinary person, this was a completely immersive experience, as if she were truly inside a haunted old house at this very moment.
"Judging by this corridor, it seems we can only move forward."
Noticing that Yui beside him was a little frightened, Nakano Yu gently squeezed her hand to reassure her, then looked at the corridor stretching endlessly into darkness and spoke.
Since Yumiko had brought them here, Nakano Yu, who had already seen through everything, naturally had no intention of exposing it and ruining their fun. Besides, since they were already here, he might as well see how well this Monster House had been made.
"...Mm!"
Moving even closer to the young man, Yui nodded vigorously, staring at the completely black end of the corridor while her eyes trembled with fear.
People naturally fear darkness, and Yui could not escape that feeling.
However, simply knowing that Nakano Yu was beside her made her relax for some reason.
The two of them walked toward the end of the corridor, and soon their figures merged with the darkness and disappeared.
After the two of them left, a cloaked figure appeared, looking toward the end of the corridor as a quiet voice sounded:
"That guy's aura is on you. Are you finally going to find her?"
After saying that, the figure stepped forward and followed after Nakano Yu and the others.
.....That's right.
At this moment, in the Nakano household, a silver-haired girl sat in the living room. Her delicate hands, white as young scallions, held an orange that she was carefully peeling, removing the white strands.
Without even thinking, it was obvious that the girl was the necromancer, Yu.
At this moment, the Nakano Five Sisters had not yet returned home, so Yu was alone there.
Although no one else was at home, Yu was accustomed to solitude and did not feel anything special about it. Besides, she could watch television for entertainment.
Just as Yu finished removing the white strands from the orange and was checking whether it was completely clean, her mind suddenly trembled. As if sensing something, Yu did not even have time to eat the orange. She turned around, grabbed her enormous scythe, and rushed out of the room in a panic.
The place Yu was heading to was the very Shopping Mall where Nakano Yu, Miura Yumiko, and the other girls were located.
It seemed that something had appeared in that Shopping Mall, or more precisely, someone connected to Yu... or perhaps, a zombie?
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